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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Quick and Easy Dessert

I’m not much of a baker. Baking tends to require more precision than I am willing to use (I’m a little of this, little of that kind of girl), therefore I don’t usually make desserts. However, on Sunday I found myself with not much to do and some leftover phyllo dough in the fridge that I needed to use up. I had some apples sitting out, and remembered that B really likes apple turnovers. I never made them before, but figured a lazy Sunday was the best time to attempt to create a dessert recipe. Now I won’t claim that this experience has turned me into a pastry chef, but I did manage to pull off the turnovers quite well with a recipe loosely inspired by Emeril’s Apple Cups. Read on for a quick and pretty foolproof dessert.

Apple & Pear Turnovers

Makes 4 turnovers

1 apple

1 pear

2 tbsp. orange juice

2 tbsp. water

2 tbsp. honey

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. butter, melted

3 sheets phyllo dough

1 tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Peel, core and slice apple and pear. Place fruit slices, orange juice, water, cinnamon and honey in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until apples are soft, approx. 10 minutes. Lay out one sheet phyllo dough, brush with melted butter, then layer on a 2nd sheet. Repeat and add a 3rd sheet. Cut into 4 strips. Place a tablespoon or so of the filling at the end of each strip, fold into a triangle shape and continue folding up the rest of the dough, maintaining the triangle shape. Brush the end with butter to seal. Brush both sides of the turnovers with butter and sprinkle with a little sugar. Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes until brown.